The Australian Government provided funding to Kidney Health Australia for the development of 16 consultations across metropolitan, rural and remote communities of Australia to inform the new Kidney Health Australia and Caring for Australasians with Renal Impartment (KHA-CARI) Guidelines for Management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Kidney Health Australia is conducting an extensive consultation process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health experts, consumers, community members, service providers and peak bodies around Australia to ensure the new clinical guidelines are aligned with community preferences and needs.

To complement the consultation that is being conducted by Kidney Health Australia, the Catching Some Air project team led by the Lowitja Institute has undertaken similar consultations in the Northern Territory and Thursday Island.

These community consultations aim to seek feedback and advice regarding:

the focus and content of the proposed KHA-CARI clinical guideline for the Management of CKD among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and

the opportunities for translation of the new clinical guidelines into culturally-safe community information, tools and education materials, which will result in improving the outcomes for Indigenous people with CKD.

Kidney Health Australia has established an advisory group to provide advice and ensure the consultations are respectful and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Kidney Health Australia and the University of Adelaide established a productive partnership with Central Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service (CNARTS), South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), and the Aboriginal Chronic Disease Consortium for the planning, organisation and follow up of the South Australia consultations.

The Adelaide Yarning Kidneys Consultation was held in December 2018. The priorities identified by community members include kidney disease prevention and early detection, with greater emphasis to be given to rural and remote education involving family camps, face-to-face workshops and storytelling, improving access to healthcare, having treatment options available ‘on country’, improving continuity of care, stabilising the local workforce, encouraging the availability of Aboriginal expert kidney patients to provide peer education and support, improved availability of interpreters and resources in a range of languages, and reliable transportation to dialysis services.